Meet your Town of Essex Ward reps!
The Town of Essex is made up of 4 unique wards each with 1 or 2 representatives based on size and population. In Ward 1, Essex Center we have 2 councillors Joe Garon and Katie McGuire Blais. In Ward 2, McGregor there is one councillor Kim Verbeek. In Ward 3, Colchester there are 2 councillors Brad Allard and Jason Matyi. In Ward 4, Harrow there is one Ward rep Rodney Hammond. Your ward representative is a very important part of council as they are elected to not only represent the entire town but to also advocate for the specific needs of your ward and be your voice at the table. Please always use the Report a Problem feature on our website first, save the confirmation number and then reach out to your ward rep with the confirmation number to follow up if you still need assistance. Depending on the type of issue it may take some time for town staff to respond and please check your junk mail to see if the response has ended up there. Also when doing a Report a Problem from a cell phone pls make sure you scroll up to click the pictures to confirm you are not a robot if it requests. Often people report to me that they can’t report a problem but it because they are doing it on a cell phone and need to scroll up. You can also call town hall during business hours and report a problem over the phone to staff. Please ask for a confirmation number if you call in a problem for tracking purposes if you need help going forward.
Due to my recent increase in work load I am going to be asking that residents contact their ward reps before contacting me on issues inside their respective wards. Your ward reps are there to listen to your concerns and ideas and advocate on your behalf in council chambers. It is a good idea to become familiar with who represents you and build that relationship. As mayor I have been finding it challenging lately to get to some of the higher level files due the amount of ward rep concerns being brought to my desk from residents. I want to be able to read and research some of the tough topics but I can’t do that without your support. Please help me, help you.
Here is the link to Report a Problem-
https://www.essex.ca/en/live/report-a-problem.aspx
Here is the link to reach all of council if you have a concern that all of us should be aware of. Examples of this would be a zoning application or comments on the Official plan, not a pot hole or streetlight that is out. Contact your ward reps for the smaller issues inside your ward that you were not able to address via Report a Problem. We have a council of 8 people, mayor, deputy mayor and councillors. If there is something you feel we should all informed on the group email is the best way to ensure that all 8 of us hear your concerns.
I look forward to continuing to serve the community, I hope you become familiar with all members of council. Below is the link and also pictures and cell phone numbers of our ward reps.
https://www.essex.ca/en/town-hall/mayorandcouncil.aspx
